More Deer Hunting with Manitoba's Whitetail Outfitters
A Hunter’s First Remote Hunt
 Editor’s Note: Peter Zullo from Glouster, Virginia, had never been on a hunt with Whitetail Outfitters until this one. He’d found a description of Whitetail Outfitters of Manitoba on Cabela’s Outfitters webpage (www.cabelas.com), and then talked to Travis Baker at Cabela’s who recommended Whitetail Outfitters.
I had bee n on other deer hunts, and I wanted to try a different kind of deer hunt. I wanted to go to a location where I wouldn’t see three or four other hunters, and I wanted the chance to take a deer of a lifetime. I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived, but the ride into camp was harrowing. Our ATV and trailer tipped over twice, throwing three of the hunters into the water. We had to use a winch two or three times to get the 4-wheelers out of the mud. If we hadn’t worn chest-high waders, we would have been soaked. The trip into camp was an adventure itself!
I really enjoyed the ride into camp, and once we arrived, I knew we had arrived at a place that few – if any – other humans would ever see. On my stand the first morning, I saw a lot of scrapes and several intersecting deer trails. At 10:15 am, I spotted three deer. The first deer was a doe that came by running, the second deer was a spike buck, and about 30 yards behind the buck, I spotted a nice 8-point that was grunting loudly. Since the buck was running, I first tried to stop him with a grunt call. Then I took a running shot and nicked the buck, but after following the blood trail with my guide, George, we realized that I hadn’t injured the buck.
So, I returned to my stand the second day, and once again, spotted a doe early . She looked like the same doe I’d seen the previous day. Then when I looked behind her, I saw the same 8 point buck I’d missed on Monday. I know it was the same deer, because when I shot him, we found the nick in his lower leg where I’d hit him the day before. I was really excited that I hadn’t lost this buck, and even more excited that I had a second chance to take him. After I’d looked at my buck, I returned to my stand, took out my hand-held GPS receiver and marked the spot as a waypoint, so I could return to the buck. I heard something in the bush and looked back to see the doe that had come back to find the buck. The doe couldn’t figure out why the buck wasn’t chasing her. After hearing the shot, my guide got on his 4-wheeler and came to pick up me and my buck, which spooked away the doe. I looked at my GPS and found it was 1,400-miles away from my home in Virginia.
This was such a great hunt because we were in such a remote area. I never even saw an airplane fly over, and the only people I ever saw were my guides and the other hunters at camp. After taking pictures of my deer, I went out scouting and helped put up tree stands for the other hunters in camp who hadn’t taken a deer. Later that day, a lynx came into camp, and we were able to watch the cat feed on one of the deer that we’d brought into camp. This hunt has been much better than I ever expected. I liked it because it’s not a guaranteed hunt. You’re out in the wilderness alone. I’m an internal medicine doctor, and I see people all day, every day. I really enjoyed the solitude I found up here in the Manitoba wilderness. I liked not having a beeper or a cell phone, and not having another hunter walk in front of my stand. I’ll come back again. This won’t be the last time you’ll see me at Whitetail Outfitters.
For more information about hunting with Manitoba's Whitetail Outfitters, write Box 70, Stonewall, Manitoba, R0C 2Z0, call (888) 398-3459, visit
www.whitetailoutfitters.ca, or email hunt@whitetailoutfitters.ca.
Tomorrow: What the Guide Says
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